clioweb: Teaching grant writing to #audigitalhistory class tonight. Any suggestions, or words of wisdom, from the crowd? [4:18 PM Jun 22nd] View Tweet

briancroxall: @clioweb It’s obvious, but specifics matter. The best grants I get are when I’m mostly done w/project as I can then talk specifically @ it. [4:21 PM Jun 22nd] View Tweet

nowviskie: @clioweb Assessment is more important than you think! Humanists aren’t trained for it, so get help. Also, Lisa Spiro has a good blog post. [4:33 PM Jun 22nd] View Tweet

rebel129: @clioweb Same as pitching movie/book. Need to boil down what the project is and who the audience in in the first para. Think: HIGH CONCEPT [4:35 PM Jun 22nd] View Tweet

georgeonline: @clioweb 1 Find out what most recent grant-winning projects were. 2 Ask agency if they’ll discuss your app ahead of time. #audigitalhistory [5:10 PM Jun 22nd] View Tweet

sramsay: @clioweb Follow the requested format precisely — even if it seems highly redundant. #audigitalhistory [5:17 PM Jun 22nd] View Tweet

sramsay: @clioweb It’s designed that way to facilitate the review process, and missing pieces make you look careless. #audigitalhistory [5:18 PM Jun 22nd] View Tweet

georgeonline: @clioweb 3 Much of the language you write for one grant app can be used again for others but be mindful of audience diff’s #audigitalhistory [5:27 PM Jun 22nd] View Tweet

williamjturkel: @clioweb Every bullet point in grant description should be matched by section title in your narrative [5:32 PM Jun 22nd] View Tweet

williamjturkel: @clioweb Find out what percentage granting agency wants to give for student support and budget that up front [5:33 PM Jun 22nd] View Tweet

parezcoydigo: @clioweb revise x 12, pass around to as many smart people as you can. Pay super close attention to grant description/instructions. [5:38 PM Jun 22nd] View Tweet

paregorios: @clioweb @williamjturkel is right in my experience about verbatim bullet points; clear some reviewers use a checklist approach [6:03 PM Jun 22nd] View Tweet

For updates on my progress, follow HistoryPlot on Twitter. Below are the slides I presented at the American Association for History & Computing Conference, with audio recorded this afternoon to supplement the slides.

There’s one feature of the scene that stands out in my memories — the self-described online “street teams” of local bands that would go around town hanging up posters, telling their friends about shows, and proudly wearing pins. While street teams existed before, their activities were in some ways amplified and more visible on the net. It gave fans a role in the promotion of the band, and a mutual feeling of involvement/dedication to the music. Leveraging the power of simple online tools, they were able to coordinate and promote shows, as well as create a stronger sense of community among members. The street team community grew through its online presence and promotion, and in many ways acted as a social hub for us while we were in college.

So I wonder, can you take the best features of those online street teams of the past, and apply their approaches to digital history? You already have the history enthusiasts, and the Internet isn’t going anywhere. What else do you need? What could a DIY digital history street team look like? I understand two purposes of the street teams I knew growing up: to promote the activities of the band, and to also develop a cohesive physical community. Likewise, engagement and building community are critical in public and digital history, so perhaps this is an analogy worth exploring further. In the least, it provides a point of entry for discussing grassroots and community-based, highly collaborative, DIY digital history. I get excited just thinking about it.

How can we organize digital history street teams, whose passion and local interest drives them to explore our personal pasts and share with others? What are ways that we can leverage today’s technologies to both promote and define that digital history community? While bands have a very specific purpose (to perform music), what are activities of these history enthusiasts? Can we engage casual history enthusiasts in local communities by using simple digital tools? How can these street teams grow organically?

I have some distinct ideas for how we can go about this, but before I get ahead of myself — what do you think about this idea? What are examples that you can share of activities that may already fit this vision?